Seven life terms for rapist dad

A 51-YEAR-OLD man convicted of raping his two stepdaughters for years on end received multiple life terms yesterday.

Delivering his judgment in the Johannesburg High Court‚ Judge Cassim Moosa Moosa said the accused had shown no remorse for his crimes.

“[He] turned his stepdaughters into his wives‚ having sexual intercourse with them‚” he said.

The mechanic was sentenced to seven life imprisonment terms for seven counts of rape and indecent assault. In his detailed judgment‚ Moosa described the man’s crimes as horrendous.

The Randfontein man had been raping his stepdaughters since they were about seven and eight years old.

One of the girls had testified that as a young child‚ she believed that what happened between her and her stepfather was normal.

The rape continued until the girls were in high school‚ when, after confiding in a counsellor, it was learnt that he had done the same to both of them for years.

The court had heard that the girls’ mother had known of the abuse but had felt powerless to stop it.

The victims’ lives had been turned upside down, with reports of attempted suicide and promiscuity.

Meanwhile‚ the man continued to plead his innocence.

Shortly after his sentencing‚ he applied for leave to appeal‚ submitting a 19-page document containing 31 points on which he based his appeal.

Following a short adjournment‚ Moosa rejected his application‚ saying there were no reasonable prospects of success.